By Steve Conley
Founder, Academy of Life Planning
“You cannot heal what you refuse to name. You cannot empower people while keeping them dependent.”
On 30 June 2025, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) unveiled its “once-in-a-generation” targeted support reforms. The industry hails it as a breakthrough. I call it what it truly is — a return to home service sales and bancassurance, repackaged to meet the City’s growth agenda.
This isn’t advice. It isn’t empowerment. It’s product distribution — delivered to the masses without regulatory protection.
⚠️ What’s Really Going On?
The FCA’s plan permits firms to make investment suggestions to groups of consumers based on “reasonable assumptions” — not based on actual personal data. These are not personalised recommendations. They are cookie-cutter nudges, cloaked in pseudo-guidance, designed to drive sales under the guise of support.
It’s a model that removes the human, the holistic, and the helpful — leaving behind only the profitable.
Under these proposals:
- Consumers will receive marketing disguised as mentorship.
- Firms can charge for “support” without taking responsibility for outcomes.
- No Financial Ombudsman protection is available if it all goes wrong.
The FCA calls it a “win-win”. But who’s really winning here?
🧠 A Deeper Violation
Let’s be clear. This is not about closing the advice gap. It’s about keeping the public away from real financial planning, while maintaining control over distribution pipelines for the benefit of the few.
It is a subtle form of disempowerment: persuading people to buy, not to think.
This is a misuse of power — a perversion of the public good — cloaked in caring language. It does not serve the young, the vulnerable, or those in financial distress. It serves shareholders.
🚫 The Wilful Blindness to Human Capital
Perhaps the most damning flaw in the FCA’s targeted support proposals is the complete absence of human capital — the other great pillar of total wealth.
How can you nudge a consumer into fearing they aren’t saving enough for retirement, without first understanding their capacity to earn, create, contribute, or adapt?
How can you warn someone they are drawing down on their pension too quickly and might outlive their money — without any reference to their ability to retrain, reinvent, or re-enter the workforce?
You can’t.
But targeted support isn’t about truth. It’s about transactions.
Financial capital is the only variable in the equation — because it’s the only one the industry can sell. Human capital is inconvenient. It requires trust in people, not products. Empowerment, not dependency. Growth in capability, not just portfolios.
By ignoring human capital, these reforms don’t just fall short — they actively mislead.
They send a message that your only hope lies in how much you’ve already saved, not in who you are, what you can become, or how you can align your life with purpose and productivity.
This isn’t guidance. It’s gaslighting.
🔥 The Alternative: Self-Directed Empowerment
At the Academy of Life Planning, we teach that financial planning must begin within — not with the product but with the person.
This is the Age of Aquarius, not the Age of Pisces. The old paradigm, where intermediaries held the keys and consumers were passive recipients, must end. In its place, we offer:
- Non-intermediating financial planning: no product sales, no hidden agendas.
- The GAME Plan: a human-first framework based on Goals, Actions, Means, and Execution.
- Peer mentorship and holistic education: empowering people to plan their own lives and finances.
Where the system says “People like you might benefit from X fund,” we ask, “What matters to you most in life — and how can your money serve that?”
🕯️ A Call to Leadership
This is a pivotal moment.
We cannot run from the dark or remain silent while regulatory capture redefines care as commerce. We must name the deception, heal the wound, and protect the public.
Each of us must become our own leader.
Let this be a turning point — not towards institutionalised nudges masquerading as support, but toward sovereign decision-making, self-agency, and meaningful planning.
If you feel uneasy about this new wave of so-called “support,” trust that instinct. You are not imagining it. The capture is real — but so is the alternative.
✅ Take Action
- 📚 Learn to become your own financial planner: Planning My Life
- 👥 Join our community of empowered planners: Academy Memberships
- 📢 Speak out against regulatory capture: Transparency Task Force
The system has shown its hand. Now it’s time to show ours — one of light, truth, and lasting empowerment.
If this resonates, join us at the Academy of Life Planning. We’re building a new world where planning means purpose—not just portfolios.
Join the M-Power Movement
Our Strategy:
- Vision, not critique.
- Surgical, not sweeping.
- Stories, not slogans.
- Accountability, not lost.
- Alternatives, not arguments.
What’s in it for you?
- Empowerment: Learn how to manage your money and grow your wealth with confidence.
- Entrepreneurship: Discover tools and support to turn your ideas into thriving businesses.
- Community: Connect with like-minded individuals and organisations dedicated to financial freedom for all.
How to Get Started:
- Join Our Community: Access free resources, workshops, and networking opportunities.
- Book a Call: Speak with an expert to explore how we can support your journey to financial independence.
- Spread the Word: Help us build a global movement by sharing this vision with your network.
Together, we can redefine what financial planning means, transforming it from a service of dependency into a tool of empowerment. The M-Power Movement is not just about creating wealth; it’s about creating a fairer society where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Are you ready to take control of your financial future?
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